Friction-clutch.



No. 766,534. PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904. C. SEYMOUR.

FRICTION CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1904. N0 MODEL.

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ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES Patented August 2, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

CHARLES SEYMOUR, OF DEFIANOE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE DEFIANOE MACHINE WVORKS, OF DEFIANOE, OHIO.

FRICTION-CLUTCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,534, dated August 2, 1904.

Original application filed January 30, 1904, Serial No. 191,272. Divided and this application filed April 29. 1904. Serial No. 205,458. (No model.)

of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Friction-Clutch, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, this being a division of the application for Letters Patent of the United States for a band-saw, Serial No. 191,272, filed by me January 30, 1904.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved friction-clutch arranged to hold a movable part under ordinary conditions in position, to allow a limited yielding I 5 movement of the said part when under an ordinary strain, and to permit the part to move any desired distance when under an excessive strain.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations of the same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claim.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings,

forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both views.

Figure 1 is cross-section of the improvement applied to a rack-and-pinion movement for 3*: raising or lowering the sliding head of a bandsaw, and Fig. 2 is a sectional front elevation of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

The improved friction-clutch forming the subject-matter of this application is more es- 3 5 pecially designed for use on the raising and lowering mechanism for the head of a bandsaw, which head carries the feed mechanism for feeding the work transversely over the saw-table; but it is evident that the frictionclutch may be used on other mechanisms and devices, if desired.

A rack K, in mesh with a pinion K is employed for imparting movement to the head or other part to be raised or lowered, and the said pinion K is fastened or formed on a shaft K journaled in a suitable bearing E carried on the main frame E of the machine on which the device is used. On the outer end of the shaft K is secured a hand-wheel K", adapted to be turned by the operator to rotate the shaft K for the pinion K to impart a sliding inotion to the rack K and the head in either direction, according to the direction in which the hand-wheel K" is turned. By moving the head the feed mechanism thereon is moved in proper contact with the top face of the work to be fed across the saw-table.

In order to lock the shaft K, and consequently the head, in position, but to allow a limited yielding movement of the head to compensate for any inequalities in the work, the following friction-clutch is provided: On the shaft K is secured a friction-disk 0, having a peripheral groove O, approximately U- shaped in cross-section and in which fits a correspondingly-shaped friction-block O engaged by a handled screw-rod O screwing in a yoke O", mounted to turn loosely on the friction-disk O. The yoke O is provided with an arm O adapted to abut against either of the stops O or O attached to the flange E of the bearing E the said stop serving to limit the oscillating movement of the yoke 0*. By screwing the screw-rod O downward the block O is forced with more or less force in frictional contact with the friction-disk O, so as to normally hold the latter against turning, but in case of an undue strain in an upward direction against the head and rack K the pinion K and its shaft K can turn, so as to swing the arm O from the stop O over toward the stop O thereby allowing the head to yield sufliciently to compensate for an increase in thickness of the work passing over the sawtable and under the feed mechanism of the head. The weight of the head and the parts supported thereby is sufficient to return the head in a downward direction in case the work decreases in height, so that the arm O again moves over to the stop O, and in case of an excessive strain the block O will slide in the groove O of the friction-disk O, so that the head may be moved any desired distance upward, provided sufficient force is employed to move the head in an upward direction.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the friction-clutch holds the shaft K under ordinary conditions against turning, but in case of a strain the shaft K has a limited turning motion, and in case of an excessive strain the shaft K may make one or more revolutions.

When it is desired to freely actuate the rackand-pinion movement for raising or lowering the head, then it is only necessary for the operator to unscrew the screw-rod O to relieve the friction-disk O of the friction by the friction-block 0 so that the operator on turning the hand-wheel K* can readily turn the shaft K for the desired purpose.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent A friction-clutch for a shaft or similar ro tating part, comprising a friction-disk secured to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES SEYMOUR.

Witnesses GEO. W. DEATRIoH, J os. BAUER. 

